153 research outputs found
Demographic effects of aggregation in the presence of a component Allee effect
Intraspecific interactions are key drivers of population dynamics because
they establish relations between individual fitness and population density. The
component Allee effect is defined as a positive correlation between any fitness
component of a focal organism and population density, and it can lead to
positive density dependence in the population per capita growth rate. The
spatial structure is key to determining whether and to which extent a component
Allee effect will manifest at the demographic level because it determines how
individuals interact with one another. However, existing spatial models to
study the Allee effect impose a fixed spatial structure, which limits our
understanding of how a component Allee effect and the spatial dynamics jointly
determine the existence of demographic Allee effects. To fill this gap, we
introduce a spatially-explicit theoretical framework where spatial structure
and population dynamics are emergent properties of the individual-level
demographic rates. Depending on the intensity of the individual processes the
population exhibits a variety of spatial patterns that determine the
demographic-level by-products of an existing individual-level component Allee
effect. We find that aggregation increases population abundance and allows
populations to survive in harsher environments and at lower global population
densities when compared with uniformly distributed organisms. Moreover,
aggregation can prevent the component Allee effect from manifesting at the
population level or restrict it to the level of each independent group. These
results provide a mechanistic understanding of how component Allee effects
operate for different spatial population structures and show at the population
level. Our results contribute to better understanding population dynamics in
the presence of Allee effects and can potentially inform population management
strategies
Psychological Factors Related to Fibromyalgia Syndrome Phenomenon
Fibromyalgia is a chronic rheumatic syndrome characterized mainly by diffuse musculoskeletal pain. Its diagnosis is clinical and the presence of 15 to 18 tender specific painful body sites (tender points), with no specific laboratory alterations. It is often associated with other symptoms such as constant fatigue, swelling, morning stiffness, difficulty in memorizing and concentrating, mood swings, anxiety, and depression, among others. This condition mainly affects women, bringing a considerable negative impact on carriers. Pain perception is the result of multiple factors: biological, social, and psychological. This study sought through qualitative research to recognize the psychosocial factors related to fibromyalgia, as well as identify the possible meanings to suffering, seeking to contribute to elucidate the psychogenic phenomena related to the pain of Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Finally, to analyze if patients who are undergoing psychotherapy follow-up benefit from the symptoms caused by chronic pain of fibromyalgia. The result is divided into three categories: Implications of the diagnosis in social relations, repercussions of the diagnosis on the interviewees\u27 quality of life, and psycho-affective symptoms experienced by the interviewed fibromyalgia patients. According to the research, it was observed physical limitation, adding severe pain, memory impairment, concentration, excessive fatigue, resulting in psychic suffering characterized as guilt, frustration, depression, anxiety, and self-image affected. In this study, ten female patients with a mean age of 40.2 years were interviewed, of which 30% are undergoing psychological follow-up, which resulted in greater acceptance of their comorbidity and coping with it
MACROECOLOGIA, BIOGEOGRAFIA E ĂREAS PRIORITĂRIAS PARA CONSERVAĂĂO NO CERRADO
revista vol 13 nÂș 3.indd HĂĄ consenso entre os cientistas de que a hĂĄ atualmente uma âcrise da biodiversidadeâ, resultado da constante e intensa perda de habitat natural causada pela expansĂŁo da ocupação. Como a biologia da conservação tem sido muitas vezes reconhecida como uma ciĂȘncia da crise, ela deve fornecer informaçÔes capazes de mediar, de forma mais cientĂfica possĂvel, as tomadas de decisĂŁo que sĂŁo necessĂĄrias. Dentre estas, uma das mais importantes Ă© indicar regiĂ”es prioritĂĄrias para a conservação, jĂĄ que por motivos Ăłbvios nĂŁo Ă© possĂvel preservar todos os ecossistemas por inteiro. Nesse contexto, recentemente sugeriu-se que a aplicação de princĂpios, teorias e anĂĄlises provenientes da biogeografia e da macroecologia seriam importantes na Biologia da Conservação, formalizando uma abordagem que tem sido denominada âBiogeografia da Conservaçãoâ. Assim, o objetivo deste artigo Ă© discutir e revisar esses componentes da biogeografia da conservação, utilizando uma abordagem macroecolĂłgica para desenvolver e aplicar mĂ©todos de planejamento sistemĂĄtico em conservação, utilizando o bioma Cerrado como um modelo de estudo. Foram discutidos inicialmente os padrĂ”es de riqueza e diversidade beta e, em um segundo momento, como esses padrĂ”es podem ser correlacionados Ă ocupação humana do Bioma. Essa relação Ă© fundamental para subsidiar a aplicação de modelos de planejamento sistemĂĄtico de conservação em escala regional (anĂĄlises de insubstituibilidade, complementaridade e de lacunas). Ă preciso considerar tambĂ©m que hĂĄ sĂ©rias falhas de conhecimento sobre os padrĂ”es de biodiversidade na regiĂŁo e que a escolha de grupos indicadores pode ser importante para minimizar problemas gerados pela falta de conhecimento. Assim, essa abordagem Ă© interessante em um cenĂĄrio de grandes incertezas (ausĂȘncia de dados detalhados) e de rĂĄpida transformação da paisagem, possibilitando a otimização de estudos em grandes escalas e depois transferir os resultados para escalas espaciais mais locais e realmente relevantes para a conservação. Nessas regiĂ”es, podem ser realizados, em um segundo momento, estudos mais detalhados a fim de avaliar padrĂ”es de viabilidade populacional, fragmentação de habitat e regiĂ”es potenciais de manutenção da diversidade genĂ©tica
Bullying escolar: um fenĂŽmeno multifacetado
School bullying can involve children in different ways, making them play different roles, among them, victims, bullies and bully-victims. The aim of this study was to describe how bullying occurs in high social vulnerability schools of Florianópolis metropolitan area and the roles played by students in this phenomenon. Overall, 409 children and adolescents from the 3rd to 5th grades and of two public elementary schools aged 8-16 years (X = 11.14) participated in this study. As a tool, the Olweus Questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian population was used. For data analysis, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were applied by the Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests. As for results, 29.8% of boys and 40.5% of girls reported being victims; 32.3% of boys and 24.6% of girls reported being bullies. Victims were the most willing to help a colleague who is suffering from bullying (X = 1.54; p> 0.001), even if they do not know the victims (X = 1.57; p> 0.004). Bullies are differentiated from the group that does not participate (X = 1.73) and the group of victims (X = 2.34), being those who felt less alone (x = 1.47; p> 0.001). It was concluded that the information obtained in this study is indispensable in the search for alternatives to reduce school bullying. The strengthening of relations between school and students and a better preparation of teachers and school staff are extremely necessary to try to minimize the effects of risk factors to which these children are exposed and consequently violence at school.O bullying escolar pode envolver crianças de diferentes
maneiras, fazendo com que essas assumam papéis diferenciados.
Dentre estes, tĂȘm-se vĂtimas, agressores e vĂtimas-agressoras. O
objetivo deste estudo foi descrever como ocorre o bullying em
escolas de alta vulnerabilidade social da Grande FlorianĂłpolis
e os papéis assumidos pelos alunos nesse fenÎmeno. Quanto ao
método, participaram 409 crianças e adolescentes do terceiro
ao quinto ano e da quarta à sexta série do ensino fundamental,
de duas escolas pĂșblicas municipais, com idades entre 8 e 16
anos (X=11,14). Como instrumento, utilizou-se o QuestionĂĄrio
de Olweus adaptado à população brasileira. Para a anålise
dos dados, empregaram-se a estatĂstica descritiva e estatĂstica
inferencial por meio dos testes Mann Whitney e Kruskal Wallis.
Quanto aos resultados, 29,8% dos meninos e 40,5% das meninas
relataram terem sido vĂtimas; jĂĄ 32,3% dos meninos e 24,6%
das meninas relataram terem sido agressores. As vĂtimas foram
as que se mostraram mais dispostas a ajudar como podem um
colega que esteja sofrendo agressĂŁo (X=1,54; p>0,001), mesmo
que não o conheçam (X=1,57; p>0,004). Em contrapartida,
os agressores se diferenciaram do grupo que nĂŁo participa
(X=1,73) e do grupo das vĂtimas (X=2,34), sendo aqueles que
menos se sentiram sozinhos (X=1,47; p>0,001). Concluiu-se
que as informaçÔes obtidas neste estudo são indispensåveis
na busca de alternativas para redução do bullying escolar. O
fortalecimento das relaçÔes entre escola e alunos, e um maior
preparo dos professores e funcionĂĄrios sĂŁo extremamente
necessĂĄrios para tentar minimizar os efeitos dos fatores de
risco a que essas crianças estão expostas e consequentemente a
violĂȘncia na escola.CAPES - Proc. nÂș 0815/14-4CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT)Projeto EstratĂ©gico da FCT: UID/CED/00317/201
[Covid-19 in the Northeast of Brazil: from lockdown to the relaxation of social distancing measures].
Even in the period when the Covid-19 pandemic was on the rise in the Northeast of Brazil, the relaxation of social distancing measures was introduced. The scope of the study is to assess, in the light of the epidemiological-sanitary situation in the region, the suitability of relaxation of social distancing measures. Based on the WHO guidelines for relaxation of social distancing, operational indicators were created and analyzed for each guideline in the context of the Northeast. To analyze the behavior of the epidemic, according to selected indicators, Joinpoint trend analysis techniques, heat maps, rate ratios and time trends between capitals and the state interior were compared. The weekly growth peak of the epidemic occurred in May-July 2020 (epidemiological weeks 19 to 31). In most capitals, there was no simultaneous downward trend in the number of cases and deaths in the 14 days prior to flexibilization. In all states the number of tests performed was insufficient. In epidemiological week 24, the state percentages of ICU/Covid-19 bed occupancy were close to or above 70%. The epidemiological situation of the nine Northeastern state capitals analyzed here did not meet criteria and parameters recommended by the World Health Organization for the relaxation of social distancing measures
Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research
Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4
While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge
of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5â7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8â11 In
the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the worldâs most diverse rainforest and the primary source of
Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13â15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazonâs biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus
crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced
environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian
Amazonia, while identifying the regionâs vulnerability to environmental change. 15%â18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by
2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status,
much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Mitochondrial physiology
As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery
Mitochondrial physiology
As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery
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